Skull
by Morgan Stares K'Treva
Summary: Stories behind stories, for who knows what is lost in the telling?
1. Chapter 1

I sit there and stare blankly down at myself, and at the small, chubby hand holding the pacifier. In front of me, Fon and Luce were trying to calm the raging reborn, beside them, Verde was already running tests on him self as with his machines, Lal Mirch furiously lecturing Colonello beside him. Next to them was Viper, grumbling to himself about how he was going to loose money.

I can understand their reactions, none of their professions really depend on being in adult bodies. Fon was an assassin, and he was part of the Hibari family, no one would stoo giving him jobs. Luce was the boss of Giglo Nero, enough said. Reborn was a hitman, so no one would stop giving him missions either, and if he needed, he had the Vongola, no matter how much it was denied.

Verde was a scientist, and had enough money coming in from his patents that he was set. Lal Mirch and Colonello had CEDEF and Combusin. Viper was a physic and an illusionist he could pass himself off as an adult or even just create an adult figure.

But me, I'm a stunt man, immortal yes, but to be a stunt man you need to be able to reach the pettles. I've got some money stored away for if I got injured, but it was only enough for one year.

I stubbornly choke back a sob as I turn from the circle of other powerful people, and walk away from the circle slowly so that I don't attract anyone's attention, and get them to force me to show them my face.

When I get to the bottom of the mountain, I have to choke back another sob as I stare up at my bike, the full reality finally hitting me.

The others have support networks to back them up, but I have nothing. I have to smile bitterly as I turn away from my bike and start trudging down the long road leading to the closest town.

I was always the youngest and least qualified of the group, and being cloud natured didn't help either. So here I walk off, half hoping that this was just a bad dream, half hoping I could just die, and save the world the trouble.

But I'm Skull, the immortal stunt man, the Acrobaleno's cloud, and I won't allow my self to be tethered. After all, Luce and the others aren't my family, no matter how much they care for me. So, during the long hours I have to walk, I think, and I plan, using the one aspect of my mind that had kept me alive and made my reputation know to the mafia despite being entirely legal.

When I get home after seeking onto a plane and hitch hiking a lit- a lot, I drag an old computer with a couple of hazard stickers on the out from under my bed, and smile at them as I plug it in and wait for it to charge. I grab a piece of paper and start writing down the beginnings of my plan, and what kind of a person I was going to reinvent myself as.

I need to be reclusive, most likely a hermit of some sort, possibly shy, and intelligent; ideal age: 20, the same as my actual age, and with no living family or close friends.

Then I turn to my computer, which had charged enough for me to use, and I start typing, my eyes taking in the information on the screen in quick sweeps as I hack into data bases around the world, quickly grabbing the dead within a day folders, and put in a sweep for people born the same year as me. I feel a brief moment of sorrow when I realize just how many folders I have before I narrow it down to those who were reportedly intelligent, looking for a higher grade average.

Luckily that brought the number down to a hundred, and I quickly start reading these, discarding many of them for one reason or another until the I get near the bottom of the file. My eyes widen as I read the name; Erin Baker, and I choke a little. I quickly open the file, laughing as I read the details. It seems that the cover up people I had payed had finally done their job. The forensic lab report of a leg bone that someone's dog had dug up had come up positive as a match for my DNA.

I snort and trash the file, going onto the next one. Once again, my eyes widen as I read the report and hold back a swallow. The report was about my old friend Aaron, a loner like me whose parents had died when he was five, and my mother had been given custody of him and his sister because our mothers had been friends. They'd stayed with us till my mother had died of a cold durring the winter before we had split ways, meeting once a year to discuss things and make sure we were all okay.

The file said that he had been killed in a hit and run, and that his sister was taking care of his affairs. I'm kind of surprised that the sweep didn't remove his file from the list.I look at the file for a moment before I sigh and close the computer, turning and starting to pack. Seems like it's time to visit Gaia again.

* * *

><p>When I show up with my bags, Gaia simply looks at me for a moment before opening the door up wider. "You going to stay home this time Erin?"<p>

"What are you talking about sister?" I ask, dragging my bag over the threshold.

"And my name's Aaron, not Erin," I say turning to meet Gaia's eyes. She looks at me for a moment before nodding.

"Welcome back Aaron," she said, closing the door. "Play the piano for me?"


	2. Chapter 2

I pull the curtain across the alcove the piano was in and slip into it, resisting the urge to pull a lock of my hair down to check if all of the original blonde had come back and I start warming up my hands. After a minute or so, Gaia slips in and nods to me, relaxing against the wall as she sat. I take that as my que and start playing the simple piece in front of me, letting my fingers dance over the keys with the clacking of silverware and mummer of voices in the background.

I let my mind wander as my fingers move on automatic. It hadn't taken long for my habits from back when I had first started playing at five, when my fingers were too small for the huge piano, to come back, allowing me to easily play despite my size, and when I had realized that, back when I had first played for Gaia, I had smiled bitterly. The two of us had edited the government's files to show that Aaron Tash had only been in a coma, and bribed the doctors on his case with all of my money to get them to agree.

We had privately cremated Aaron's corpse and buried him in a corner of the ancient graveyard. Then Gaia had gotten me this gig as the pianist for a restaurant in a hotel, pretending that she would be playing, and now, the two of us came here every evening to play for the restaurant.

Half of me is waiting for the other Acrobaleno to find me even as I build up my reputation as a reclusive, but brilliant artist and possibly a writer as Erin Baker, also starting an underground personality, Saw Dust, as an explosives dealer.

None of my customers ever meet me, and I disguise my electronics by bouncing the signal off over fifteen different servers in different parts of the world, and a lot of it through public wifi hot spots as well as wiggling through a couple holes in government servers. When it came time to exchange money, I instructed my customers to transfer the money to a specific bank in their country, and setting up the accounts with his interest rates. The moment the money was in the account, their doorbell was rung by the closest high speed delivery service with their explosive in a brown box.

It wasn't hard to find the customers, after getting past the security of the some of the less guarded families, I was able to find out who some of the major suppliers were, who they supplied to, and who had demands for more. It only took breaking into a few more networks before I figured out who would have to be eliminated to create a large enough sink hole in supply and demand to allow me to be properly supported, and soon I hacked into their accounts and drained them of all of their resources, and hired some random kid off the street to give them a free sample of something they wanted (surprisingly, mast seemed to just want trips to Hawaii.

Their samples or brochure sheets were covered with a slow acting poison the could be absorbed through the skin, and after each man, I knocked the kid out, gave him the antidote, and left him in his home, or the most secure place for them I could find.

I blink, coming back the present without a hitch in my playing as Gaia rests a hand on my shoulder. I quickly finish the section of the music that I'm on with a swirl, and turn to her with a glance.

"We're done for now," she told me softly, and I nod. The two of us slip out and with a glance at the nearly empty restaurant, make out way to my boss. He waves off a pair of servers as we approach and smiles at Gaia.

"Excellent job, one again my dear," he told her with a smile before directing his attention down to me with a smile. "I hope you're nephew inherits your talent."

I scrunch my nose, but force myself to clap. "Aunty make pretty noise!"

My boss smiles at me before turning back to Gaia.

"It's the end of your shift dear, so you can go now. Be careful of the traffic," he advised her with a smile.

"I will," Gaia said with her usual soft manner, and the two of us walk out.

"Thank you for letting me get you a job where I can listen to you play," She aid as the two of us get into her minivan.

"Welcome," I tell her, sliding into the front seat.

We drove home in comfortable silence as I watch the scenery pass and consider my options.

Now that we had enough money to make it worthwhile, I could duplicate it with my flames and then Gaia and I could wander the world. But though it sounds nice it would be hard to keep doing, I've never been good at living out of a suitcase.

There's also the option of going back to the Underworld and doing . . . something other than selling explosives for money, but that was never really my thing. The only reason I had gotten involved in the first place had been to find out who had been messing with my manager, and that had pulled my down into the darkness, so it's not really something I want to do. Besides, it would be easier for the others to find me then, being an assassin who refuses to be seen, even to meet with their benefactor screams suspicious, even to those of the underworld.

Despite everything, the best option I have is to keep doing what I'm doing right now. I would have to move every three or four years, but despite the fact that it would be boring, it would keep me alive.

I sigh and lean back as Gaia pulls into her driveway, hopping out of the car as soon as it rolls to a stop. I'll stay here for now, and maybe I might visit some of my family. I haven't seen them in years, not since Mama's funeral when I was seventeen. I consider that I Gaia and I go inside, and I hop onto my bed as I time we move I'll go see my cousin Tsuyoshi. I should probably finnish off the rest of my punk attitude though, or he'd think that I wasn't my own son.

I can't have anyone knowing that I'm still alive.


End file.
